The Patriarchs
The "patriarchs" are the ancestors of the main branches of the family whose descendants are still living. There are nowadays 4 different branches: two French, and two American that mixed after their arrival in the U.S.A. Among the Patriarchs is the founder of the family and its name: Pierre Mileur who's got a special place due to his importance. We can also distinguish four cousins belonging to the same generation who left the Lorraine area abt 1871 to escape the Prussian occupation after the war.
Pierre Mileur (abt. 1738 - 1788)
He's the ancestor common to all the family: every Mileur nowadays is a descendant of this man. But he's also the most mysterious character of all, and we know but very few things about him. He was a shepherd and could not write. He's got 2 wives: Marie Melon (abt 1735-1771) who died prematurely at the age of 36, and Elisabeth Guerbeur (abt 1739 - 1809). We find the first mention of his name in 1769 in a tiny village called Torcheville, where was born his son Jean, and then in 1772 when he got married for the second time. Perhaps was he born also in this place: we don't know. He's got at least 8 children: 2 have died extremely young. He died in Lagarde on march 15th 1788 at 50 years old. We don't know for the moment any siblings.
Extract of the marriage certificate in 1772. Pierre signed with a little cross in the center of the image, and the priest noted "marque du marie" (mark of the husband). It's the only manuscript document we have about our ancestor.
Alfred Firmin Mileur (1835 - 1919)
Alfred Firmin was born in Ommeray on september 25th 1835, he's the great grandson of Pierre Mileur and his first wife. He was a shoemaker in his youth and then a rural policeman in his natal village. He married on july 27th 1856 Veronique Pierron who gave him 15 children: Laurance Athalie (1856-?), Denise Léontine (1858-?), Marie Anatholie (1859-abt.1922), Charles Albert (1861-?), Narcisse (1862-1864), Alphonse (1864-abt.1910), Edmond (abt.1865-?), Selmen (1865-1866), Marie Edmond Joseph Auguste (1866-abt.1940), Henri Alfred (1868-abt.1954), Louis (1870-abt.1937), Gabrielle (abt.1872-abt.1922), Victoire Marie (1872-?), Paul Firmin (1875-abt.1947), Marie Antoinette (1876-abt. 1963). On april 21th 1882 he emigrated to the U.S.A. with 8 of his children aboard the ship "Dupuy de Lhome" from the harbor of Le Havre to New York city where he arrived on may 18th 1882. He was 47 years old. He settled down in Illinois : at that time several French communities were established there. A 2d cousin of his, François, was already living there since the 1870s. Alfred has bought lands and built a farm in the little town of Murphysboro, Ill. He died in 1919. He's the ancestor of one of the American branch.
Alfred Firmin in the 1880s. Signature of Alfred in 1875 Alfred Firmin in the 1910s
François Mileur (1829 - 1910)
François was born in the village of Veho in the Meurthe-et-Moselle area on july 9th 1829. He's the great grandson of Pierre Mileur, and a 2d cousin of Alfred. As most of his relatives he was first a shepherd. He married before 1869 Marie Pratt who was born in Montaut, a village in the "Basses Pyrenees" area (today called the "Pyrenees orientales") in southern France near Spain. He may have married Marie Pratt in her village before coming back for awhile to Lorraine. We don't know how they met and his first 30 years are mysterious. He's got at least 7 children whose most were born in Bourdonnay: Charles (1865-?), Marie Amélie (1867-?), Joséphine Amélie (1869-?), Alexandre Hippolyte (1871-1964), Frances A (1873?-1947), Augustine (?-?), Jules (1873-1953). He has emigrated after 1871 in French Algeria, and according to certain sources his son Jules was born in Algiers on september 19th 1873. He went after that date to the U.S.A where he was rejoined some time later by Alfred Firmin. He died on november 5th 1910 in Murphisboro, Ill. He's the ancestor of the 2d american branch.
François Mileur and his wife Marie Pratt
Joseph Mileur (1846 - 1932)
Joseph Mileur is the 1st cousin of François Mileur and 2d cousin of Alfred. Like them he's the great grandson of Pierre Mileur. He was born on january 19th 1846 in Xures, the village of his mother, in the south of Lagarde, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle area. He was the 4th from a family of 7 children. His life between 1855 and 1881 is very mysterious: we only know that after the defeat in 1871 he emigrated to French Algeria where he may have had contacts with his cousin François Mileur. In 1881 he married Marie Guerre who was 14 years younger than him. He spent his life as a farmer in Bou-Sfer where he had 4 children : Constance (1881-1956), Louis (1884-1972), Henri (1888-1918), and Albert (1896-1972). He died on january 21st 1932 at the age of 86. He's the ancestor of one of the present French branches: his descendants remained in Algeria until the independence of this country in 1962, and they live nowadays in Lorraine, in Savoie, and in the south of France.
Joseph Mileur and his wife Marie Guerre in the 1900s
François Eugène Mileur (1838-1894)
François Eugène is the first cousin of Joseph and François and 2d cousin of Alfred Firmin. He was born on september 20th 1838 in Veho, in the same village as François, so they may have grown together. As his cousins, he left Lorraine during the German time and settled down in Allegre, in the "Haute Loire" area (south west of Lyon), where, according to him, he could not fear another Prussian invasion. François Eugène became a police constable and so he may have had opportunities to "emigrate". He married Jeanne Marie Cure (abt. 1845- abt.1945) who gave him 4 children: Henri (abt.1878-?), Eugène Emile (1883-1926), Clotilde (?-?), Renée (?-?). He died in action at 56 years old on december 26th 1894 in the city of Provins near Paris. He's the ancestor of the parisian branch of the family.
Signature of François Eugène in 1883
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